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Contribution to the Study of the Danubian Horsemen Cult: Iconographic

Syncretism of the Danubian Goddess and Celtic Fertility Deities

Article  in  Archaeologica Bulgarica · December 2018

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Archaeologia Bulgarica
XVII, 2 (2013), 59-72
1
On the one hand, the monuments of
this cult were found largely in the men-
tioned provinces and in lesser numbers
in Dalmatia (12 pcs.), Noricum (1 pc.)
and Thracia (2 pcs.). On the other hand,
the results of the most recent research
claim that apart from the Pannonia re-
gion, the frequency of the finds is higher
in Upper Moesia, especially in the ar-
eas of Singidunum and Viminacium.
See: Поповић 1992; Tudor 1976, 52;
Зотовић 2001.
2
Romanian scholar T. Antonescu
(1889) compiled a corpus of the monu-
ments of the cult, which had been dis-
covered by his time, linking them to
the Cabiri. At a later stage E. Nowotny
(1896, 206) accepted this reasoning stat-
ing that it was a question of either Cabiri
or Dioscuri. Some critical review of this
interpretation was given in more recent
literature by M. Tatcheva (2000).
3
Tudor (1976, 50, 94) based his opin-
ion on the frequency of the finds of the
monuments he classified as Class A,
images that showed only one horseman
with the goddess and were created ac-
cording to the iconographic patterns of
the Thracian horseman, which he con-
sidered to be chronologically the oldest.
They were found in their largest num-
bers in the Roman province of Dacia.
4
Lj. Zotović in 1975 for the first time ex-
pressed her opinion that the goddess could
be a solar deity, Luna, a central figure of the
cult in which the horsemen were subordi-
nate to her. At a later stage she developed
this hypothesis, suggesting that the new
religion was created under the influence of
Mithraism, i.e. as an expression of the same
solar theology. Since in Mithraism women
were not allowed to participate in mys-
tery rites, the new religion with a central
female deity was to attract, among others,
many women as devotees in the eastern
provinces of the Empire, thereby becom-
ing a counterpart to the growing religion
of Christianity (Зотовић 2001, 176-177;
1998; 1978; 1975, 41).
Contribution to the Study
of the Danubian Horsemen Cult:
Iconographic Syncretism
of the Danubian Goddess
and Celtic Fertility Deities
Bojana PLEMIĆ
Within the territory of the so called Danubian provinces of the Roman
Empire – Dacia, Moesia and Pannonia – there can be found a large
number of archaeological artifacts belonging to a syncretistic or mys-
tical cult1. These are mostly stone reliefs and small lead plaques with-
out almost any trace of epigraphic evidence or votive inscriptions that
could reveal more information about the deities in question, including
their names. This, as well as the fact that for most of those artifacts we
have no knowledge about the context of the finds, hampered attempts
to understand their very complex iconographic and theological con-
tent that has intrigued many researchers since the second half of 19th
century (Tudor 1976, 49-51).
The main element of this complex cult, since among various
iconographic versions of these monuments it appears as a constant,
is the representation of the cult’s central figures, showing one or two
horsemen approaching a goddess. Considering the portraits of these
horsemen, whom some of the relevant authorities denote as Cabiri
(Dioscuri)2 or Thraco-Mithraic riders (Мladenova 1984; 1958), the
cult was finally named the “Danubian horsemen’’. This was based on
D. Tudor’s belief that the cult had a local character within the territo-
ries of the middle and lower Danube basin, originating in the province
of Dacia3. Opposing his view was an interpretation claiming that the
central deity of this cult was a goddess while the horsemen were her
subjects. According to that opinion, since her character could be seen
as resulting from solar theology, the name of the cult could be changed
to the Cult of the Lunar Goddess4.
In this paper, however, we shall not delve further into interpreting
the cult’s name, nor perform the iconographic analysis of the composi-
tion of these icons. It is our intention to bring to light one of its rather
neglected artistic aspects that, in our opinion, was of significant impor-
tance for the formation of the iconic imagery. We shall be considering
the portraits of Epona (and Celtic fertility goddesses, in general) whose
influence can be found in the monuments that, according to Tudor’s ty-
pology (1976, 94), belong to Class B, showing a goddess surrounded by
two horsemen. Actually, this idea had been emphasized by some earlier
researchers but abandoned at a later stage or treated just as one of the
possible analogies in the goddesses’ image, expressing its predominantly
syncretistic character. We, however, believe that its presence was not of
an accidental nature but occurred as a consequence of the natural evo-
lution of the cult that has accordingly assumed specific iconography.
60 Bojana PLEMIĆ

In all the monuments of the Danubian horsemen, the goddess

herself seems quite modest, has no specific attributes or clothes. She
is mainly wearing a knee-length dress (chiton) with a shorter dress
on top (himation) and a fitting belt. On her head there is sometimes
a modius or a veil5, with her long hair floating down the shoulders.
Interpretations of her image have a wide syncretistic range, from
Artemis – Anahita – Cybele – Rhea – Venus – Diana of Ephesus
(Antonescu 1889, 37, 45) to Nemesis – Asa – Spandarmat – Artemis
– Agathe Tyche (Campbell 1968, 234). Likewise, some have claimed
that she is a representation of the general fertility goddess of the
Magna (Terra) Mater type, assimilated with Demeter, Epona and
Helen (Tudor 1976, 106), highlighting the aspect of this goddess re-
lated to the soil and water that gives life (aquae vitae) while reigning
over the sublunar world under the protection of the goddess Luna
(Ochsenschlager 1971, 59-60).
There is an interesting interpretation that treats one of the symbols
with special emphasis, namely the symbol of the fish that was consid-
ered as the main attribute of the goddess. This interpretation draws its
origin from the Syrian goddess Atargatis, whose cult regarded fish as
a sacred animal. Fish was prohibited for human consumption except
on occasions following the sacrificial rites when it was allowed only for
the priests. It was understood that the presence of the fish on the tri-
pod or on the banqueting table of the Danubian plaques was intended
solely for the horsemen, who would, having consumed this mystical
food, become consubstantial with the goddess (Tudor 1976, 104-106).
The impact of the Syrian goddesses was also accepted by Lj. Zotović
(1998, 75), although she believed that, since such monuments were
not found in the territories in which the cult existed, the cult itself had
primarily been spread by priestesses of an oriental origin who concep-
tualized the role of a woman in a consecration rite and thus introduced
fish as an attribute, a sacred food of the gods and mystai. However,
Tudor, as one of the most significant researchers of the Danubian cult,
rejected all of these and made a final conclusion that the deity in ques-
tion showed no specific characteristics that would allow its identifica-
tion as any of the known goddesses or indicate her name. According
to him, this goddess had a universal character of Magna Mater, with
numerous attributes whose number increased as it came into contact
with other religions, which was typical in the times of emphasized syn-
cretism (Tudor 1976, 281).
It is relevant for our subject here to mention that the mere pres-
ence of the fish in the icons of this cult was one of the main arguments
against identifying the goddess as Epona. J. Hampel was the first one
to insist on this since he considered it obvious in all of the representa-
tions where the goddess is shown touching the muzzles of horses or
feeding them. However, following a harsh criticism claiming that fish
was an unknown attribute in Epona’s cult, he abandoned his initial
theory (Tudor 1976, 104). Later, there were a few sporadic cases men-
tioning this influence, among many others, in the assimilated image
of the syncretistic goddess. Finally, Tudor (1976, 142-144) concluded
that it could not be denied that the goddess had some of the attributes
of Epona, but that did not mean that she could be fully identified with The veil is characteristic only for Class
5

Epona, since fish as a symbol, to start with, was not her attribute at A monuments and does not appear in
all. Also, he pointed out that the goddess was never shown as Epona Class B monuments (Tudor 1976, 101).

6
This iconographic type was domi-
nant in central and northern Gaul,
Germania and Burgundy, see: Boucher
1990, # 1-132; Euskirchen 1993, 625-659,
# 1-202; Green 1992, 16.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 61
typically is, mounted on a horse, holding a patera and cornucopia or
a circular vase overflowing with offerings. He admitted, though, that
the cult of Epona could have spread through the military camps in
the Lower Danube basin, starting with the period of Celtic invasion,
when it entered the military pantheon primarily due to soldiers in
riding units who respected her along with other deities. The complete
absence of Epona’s image in Dacia, i.e. the image of this deity sur-
rounded by horses, as well as the rare appearance of her image in the
territories south of the Danube, in his opinion, constituted a valid ar-
gument against these two groups of reliefs being in any iconographic
contact whatsoever.
Having in mind more recent data on the number and spatial dis-
tribution of registered monuments of the Danubian horsemen and the
corpus of recorded artistic images of Epona (Boucher 1990; Euskirchen
1993), it is our intention here to re-emphasize the undisputable exist-
ence of Celtic influence on the iconography of the goddess in certain
Class B icons. The impact of this influence can be found, as already
noted, in the movement of the goddess reaching out her hand to touch
the horses’ muzzle or feeding them, as well as in the representations
where she lifts the skirts of her robe to make a sort of pouch offering
the horse fodder, and in rare images where she is shown enthroned.
Consequently, we shall first focus on some rather contradictory facts
we believe exist in the previous interpretations.
Although fish was not known as a symbol in Epona’s cult (Boucher
1990, 996-999), its influence is actually reflected in an already par-
tially formed image of the Danubian goddess, which initially incor-
porated the aforementioned attribute. To confirm this, we find fish
in some of the oldest Class A monuments from Dacia, which show
the goddess with a single horseman but cannot be linked to the ico-
nography of Epona (Tudor 1969, # 2, 40, 45, 46). Due to the fact that
these images were created before religious syncretism became quite
strong, sometime during the first half of 2nd century AD, the fish was
treated as an original element of the cult, despite the fact that it was
already recognized as an attribute and food in many sacred rituals
of ancient peoples all over Europe. The existence of this motif in the
earliest stages of the Danubian icons can probably be linked to its
general ritual significance, since the fish had no role in the cult of
the Thracian horseman, which had instead, according to D. Tudor
(1976, 50, 211), served as a model for these oldest representations.
Therefore, the fish was not necessarily and essentially linked to later
incorporated iconographic patterns that comprised the final image
of the icons, as elements of eclectic character. These elements, then,
gained a new meaning based upon their common framework. Having
this in mind, the presence of the fish as an attribute of the goddess is
definitely not an argument for rejecting her identification with Epona,
which, according to our opinion, significantly influenced the artistic
and functional formation of the Danubian goddess. This will be the
subject of our further deliberation.
Tudor has pointed out, that in representations of the Danubian
horsemen cult, the goddess is never depicted as Epona typically is, rid-
ing a horse and holding her familiar attributes. Although that is actu-
ally her most widely used iconographic type6, however, the image of
the goddess discussed here was formed under the influence of another
62 Bojana PLEMIĆ

Epona representation, since it could illustrate the changes in the de-

velopment of the cult itself in a more adequate manner. In contrast to
Class A monuments, where the image of the goddess is off to one side,
holding her hands out towards the horseman and greeting him, Class
B monuments show her holding a central position, thereby becoming
proportionally equal to or even larger than the horsemen, who are ac-
tually showing their submission and bowing their heads to her. Such
an iconographic change could not only have resulted from contact
with other religions and their deities in the times of syncretism, but
was also an outcome of the essential development process aiming at
defining the deities’ hierarchy, their functions and rites. Consequently,
we believe that the older Class A monuments were not composition-
ally expanded by adding a horse to the principal deity. Instead, this
form, from the very beginning, was intended for the horseman who
was never ranked equal with the goddess, apparent in the benedictio
latina gesture he uses to greet her (Tudor 1976, 101, 113).
This theory of the iconography’s development can also be confirmed
by one of the more recent hypotheses regarding the interpretation of
the Danubian horsemen monuments given by M. Tatcheva (2000, 244-
245). She believes that it could not have been an organized cult since
there is no stable iconography, but rather was a functional testimony of
the great syncretistic goddess mysteries. Small transportable icons and
medallions were primarily an expression of the spiritual life in military
communities, where, thanks to their heterogeneous ethnic structures,
religious concepts developed based on the new gods and mysteries and
were translated into a deep belief founded on the saving hope of victory.
This belief, particularly represented by the occurrence of the syncret-
istic goddess, brought together many religions and soldiers of different
backgrounds and therefore remained anonymous. Within this context,
Tatcheva also assumed the origins of the Danubian horsemen, i.e. the
iconography of riders dominating the enemies underneath their hors-
es, which was imported from the soldiers’ tombstones found along the
Rhine limes since the first half of the 1st century AD. On those monu-
ments the deceased was presented as a horseman who highlighted his
military success by triumphing over a defeated enemy7. According to
the above interpretation, we can conclude that the heraldic imagery of
horsemen surrounding the goddess probably served to emphasize the
main deity and her function, by giving her a central position in the pic-
ture and making her the primary focus for devotees. It follows that the
iconographic citation drew from a less common Epona’s type, which
showed the goddess on a throne surrounded by horses, could have been
seen as an acceptable solution for further adaptation, with the aim to
express the goddess’s protection and dominance over the horsemen in
the same way as Epona relates to her horses.
The portraits of Epona surrounded by horses are geographically
most widely distributed in the Rhineland (Green 1992, 16-17) and 7
Although some previous authors em-
can be found in several variants: most usually, the goddess sitting on phasized parallels between the Danubian
a throne, although there are examples of her standing, surrounded horseman and the riders from Rhineland
by horses en face, or with their profiles turned towards her or look- funerary monuments, Tatcheva under-
lined their importance as a definite so-
ing away from her in different directions (Boucher 1990, # 185-212;
lution for the explanation of the horse-
Euskirchen 1993, Typ VI-VII, 662-676). The idea we are discussing men iconography and symbolism, see:
here, i.e. the iconographic parallels to the goddess in the Danubian Tatcheva 2000, 239-240, 244; Tudor
horsemen icons, considers the most important of those images in 1976, 118-122.
 CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 63

which the horses are turning their profiles to Epona (Boucher 1990,
# 198-207; Euskirchen 1993, # 212-232, 240-246). Those images depict
her seated on a throne, with horses on both sides and, as for attributes,
she is usually holding a basket with fruit or bread (cakes) in her lap.
The hands can be seen in various positions: holding the basket (fig. 1),
caressing the horses on the muzzle or the neck (fig. 2), or feeding them
(fig. 3), a scene also found on the Danubian icons (fig. 4). In addition,
there are versions showing horses approaching her and eating directly
from the goddess’s skirt, where the offerings are forming a satchel in
her lap (Boucher 1990, # 206-207; Euskirchen 1993, # 217, 218, 221,
222, 225, 231, 241, 242, 244), which is quite similar to the image of the
Danubian goddess with a scarf or apron (fig. 5)8. It is interesting that
this way of holding the offerings can be anticipated from a Metz relief,
showing Epona standing surrounded by horses (fig. 6).
This iconographic type illustrates the functional and artistic depth
of Epona’s cult. The presence of the horses certainly emphasizes that
aspect of the goddess where she acts as a patron of these animals, i.e.
the patron of the noble art of horsemanship, very much respected
in the Celtic world and of paramount importance for transportation
and trading purposes, and an important element of warfare. The ges-
ture of Epona feeding or caressing the horses depicts her protective
aspect while the proportionally smaller images of the horses show
their subordinate position as well as their mortality in comparison to
the divine eternity of the central figure (Green 1992, 22-23). On the
other hand, the goddess on the throne has one universal connotation
explicitly represented by a basket full of fruit in her lap – this fertility
symbol is characteristic of several Celtic goddesses, from the local
ones such as Nehalennia to the nameless fertility or city goddesses in
charge of general health and prosperity (Green 1992, 10-16, 32-39).
From the point of studying the iconography of the Danubian goddess,
it is important to emphasize that these nameless deities were often
represented in the images of enthroned goddesses with a dress draped
over her wings and holding fruit (Green 1992, 34, fig. 12). This may
imply the influence of Celtic ideas on a much wider scale than just in
Epona’s iconography.
The highlighted artistic parallel between different Epona images
and the images of the Danubian goddess, as we have already men-
tioned, are iconographic citations that have assumed even their es-
sential connotations, which are then incorporated into the develop-

8
I owe a deep gratitude to my col-
league Adam Crnobrnja, Chief of the
Archaeological department of Belgrade
City Museum, who kindly provided me
with two illustrations of the Danubian
lead icons published in this work (fig. 4
– # AA 4504; fig. 5 – # AA 4389, Belgrade Fig. 1. Relief of Epona surrounded with horses; Landesmuseum, Stuttgart (after
City Museum). Boucher 1990, 994, # 201)
64 Bojana PLEMIĆ

Fig. 2. Relief of Epona with horses

placed in an aedicule; Museum
of Fine Arts, Budapest
(after Boucher 1990, 994, # 207)

Fig. 3. Carnelian gem with the repre-

sentation of Epona feeding the horses;
National Museum, Copenhagen
(after Boucher 1990, 994, # 200a)

ment of the this cult’s theology. The size of the horses and the gestures
with which Epona shows her protection and domination have similar
manifestations in the Class B monuments of Danubian horsemen. On
the one hand, the composition in which the goddess is flanked by two
horsemen is used with the aim of emphasizing the superiority of the
goddess, who, by deploying the gesture of feeding and caressing the
horses, demonstrates patronage not only over the animals but over the
people riding them as well, indicating that they are deities of a lower
rank. On the other hand, the offerings basket as a symbol of fertility
in Epona reliefs was altered so that another goddess, with a scarf or a
dress, presents offerings as if in a satchel. It is possible that this was just
an autochthonous artistic expression derived from the local costume,

Fig. 4. Lead icon of the Danubian horse-
men; Belgrade City Museum, Belgrade
9
Indigenous elements in the clothes of
the Danubian goddess may be indicated
on a statue found in the northern necrop-
olis of ancient Naissus. She is dressed in
himation, belted at the waist, from which
start two extensions downward to knees,
completed in the form of fringes, resem-
bling the apron. Similar clothing to this
deity was recorded in several funeral
monuments from the Struma River val-
ley (Jовановић 1987, 84-85).
10
Territorial spread of such repre-
sentations according to Tudor’s cor-
pus of monuments is as follows: Dacia
Superior – 8 pcs., Dacia Inferior – 6 pcs.,
Moesia Superior – 2 pcs., Moesia Inferior
– 7 pcs., Dalmatia – 2 pcs., Pannonia
Inferior – 6 pcs., Pannonia Superior – 6
pcs., Noricum – 1 pc. These representa-
tions are also dominant in the gemmas
that are kept in different museums, while
their exact origin remains unknown, see
Tudor 1969, # 3, 4, 6-9, 18, 19, 22, 34, 37,
39, 41, 42, 48, 56, 57, 81, 88, 97, 99, 101,
112, 113, 125, 127, 132, 133, 135, 137,
149, 150, 156, 157, 161, 170, 173, 182,
187-195, 198.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 65
which incorporated some kind of an apron or a scarf9, although, as
we have seen, there were similar images in the Celtic iconography. It
is likely that this motif, as an attribute of the Danubian goddess, also
implies fertility in order to emphasize the universal character of this
deity of general prosperity and welfare.
The three known monuments of the Danubian horsemen cult show
the goddess sitting on a throne (Tudor 1969, # 18, 147, 195), which
could be understood as more proof of Celtic influence. Nevertheless,
the limited number of such representations is probably due to the fact
that, in this case, the goddess could not be prominent enough; namely,
the horsemen seem larger in comparison to her, which contradicted the
need to emphasize her domination. The effect of domination was more
easily achievable in Epona reliefs since they showed only horses in a
smaller size, namely as ponies or colts, yet, the combination of riders
and horses made it difficult to reach a satisfactory hierarchy of images,
especially keeping in mind the generally small size of Danubian icons.
In spite of all the discussion above, it still remains a question, where
these iconographic patterns might have met, especially since they were
artistically and functionally compatible, at least to the extent neces-
sary for their merging into the Danubian cult. Keeping in mind their
prevalence, the icons of Danubian horsemen that reflect the above-
mentioned influences of Epona’s iconography are found in great num-
bers in Dacia and Pannonia, and partially in Lower Moesia10, while the
latest research has found quite a number in Upper Moesia (Црнобрња
2007, 280; Поповић 1992, 32, 35, # 7, 16-18; Зотовић 2001, 172, fig.
9-10; 1975, 33, pl. I/1). In order to find the answer to the question
of how and where the assimilation of Epona iconography could have
taken place, we have to first consider the area in which her cult was
dominant and find its centers.
The monuments of this Celtic goddess were widely distributed
in Roman Gaul and the Rhineland, with particular concentrations
in Burgundy, the Metz-Trier region, along the Meuse and along the
66 Bojana PLEMIĆ

Fig. 5. Lead icon of the Danubian horse-

men; Belgrade City Museum, Belgrade

German limes (Green 1992, 16, map 4). Epona, as the patron of horses
and horse breading and as one of the most important Celtic deities,
was incorporated into the Roman pantheon. This certainly resulted
from the importance that Romans ascribed to their mounted units
mainly of Celtic and to a lesser extent German origin. Many epigraphic
monuments proving this can be found in Roman military camps located
east of the Rhine and along the Danube (Linduff 1979). The popularity
of the goddess was also due to her universal character as the mistress
of life and death, i.e. her bestowal of general wellbeing, prosperity and
regeneration. Therefore, her status was officially confirmed in Rome
where she, of all the Celtic deities, was the only one with a state holiday,
celebrated every year on 18th December (Duval 1976, 50).
In respect to Epona cult reliefs depicting the goddess on a throne
surrounded by horses, even though Tudor (1976, 144) claimed that
such representations were not known in Dacia, there is one monu-
ment kept now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest (fig. 2), which
likely originates from this province (Boucher 1990, # 207). Beside the
absence of such Epona’s representations in Dacia, Tudor also noted
that they were rare to the south of the Danube; in his time only two
monuments were registered, from Plovdiv and Abrit (Tudor 1976,
143, ref. # 135). However, in light of the more recent corpus of Epona’s
monuments, we should also add the reliefs from Gigen and Harletz
in nowadays Bulgaria i.e. province Lower Moesia (Euskirchen 1993,
 CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 67

Fig. 6. Relief of Epona (standing type)

surrounded with horses; Art and
History Museum, Metz (after Boucher
1990, 993, # 185)

# 219, 241). From our point of view, most interesting are the analogous
reliefs from Plovdiv and Harletz (fig. 7), which show the standing god-
dess surrounded by horses and caressing them in a quite similar man-
ner to the gesture of the Danubian goddess, so we believe that these
could have served as a model for her evolved iconography.
It is interesting to note that all these Epona’s reliefs were executed
in a kind of shallow rectangular niche which ends in a form that resem-
bles an aedicule. This shape was widely used by the Danubian horse-
men monuments that Tudor classified as type III. Icons of this type
were equally present in the neighboring regions of Dacia and Lower
Moesia, where 5 pieces were found in each of the regions, while one
example comes from Viminacium in Upper Moesia. It is interesting
that all these samples, except that from Viminacium, and the one from
the region of Montana in Lower Moesia, were made from lead and are
considered to have come from the same workshop (Tudor 1976, 66,
69; 1969, # 55, 77). Likewise, in 6 out of 9 of them there can be seen
identical goddess iconography, she outstretches her hands towards the
horses’ muzzle or head, using the gesture of caressing (Tudor 1969,
# 35, 42, 43, 72, 81, 99), similar to the above mentioned Epona re-
liefs. Keeping in mind that such finds were concentrated mostly in
the bordering region of Dacia and Lower Moesia (three of them are
from Romula, Sucidava, Orlea in the Romanian district of Olt and one
is from Gigen (Oescus) in the Bulgarian district of Pleven) and that
the nearest Epona reliefs of appropriate iconographic type were found
in Harletz/Augustae (Vratsa district in Bulgaria) and Gigen, we shall
dare to suppose that it is possible that this bordering territory was the
place where contact with the image of the Celtic goddess in question
occurred. In particular, the original area from which spread the use of
68 Bojana PLEMIĆ

Fig. 7. Relief of Epona (standing type)

surrounded with horses from Harletz/
Augustae; National Museum of History,
Sofia (reconstruction drawing after
Euskirchen 1993, 675, Abb. 34/1)

Epona’s iconography on the icons of the Danubian horsemen could be

the northwest of province Lower Moesia, from the Harletz and Gigen
territories across the Danube in Dacia.
Should we follow the lead of the above stated supposition, however,
it would only be logical to conclude that the mentioned influences ac-
tually could have spread further northwest along the Danube, namely
via Drobeta to Viminacium which was, at the time, one of the main
centers for the production of the Danubian horsemen icons (Поповић
1992). Likewise, Celtic influence in the cult images found in Upper
Moesia could have been spread by metal workers as well as miners
who were brought there from Gaul, as is apparent in the silver dishes
found in the village of Donji Branetići on Rudnik, identified as a votive
gift to the Epona sanctuary in this mining region11.
The Epona cult was also widespread in the area of southeast
Noricum and Upper Pannonia, where it probably developed under the
influence of Cisalpine Gaul (Šašel-Kos 1999, 138-139, 181). This could
represent an additional motivation for the usage of her iconography
in the Danubian horsemen monuments, since the Pannonian samples
quite often show elements that can be ascribed to these influences
(Црнобрња 2007, 280, fig.1; Iskra-Janošić 1966; Tudor 1976, 101). The According to the inscription on one
11

of its silver plates, the group find of sil-

Celtic goddess in this region did not have autochthonous but official
character and was respected among higher military ranks, as found in
two epigraphic monuments from Celeia (Euskirchen 1993, # 275-276;
Šašel-Kos 2008, 286-287). A hoard with a silver plate decorated with
an Epona image was discovered in Petrijanec near Varaždin, belonging
to the wider region of Ptuj (Poetovio), otherwise an important center
of the Epona cult (Šiša-Vivek et al. 2005, 236-238). This can be con-
firmed by a relief with the image of this goddess surrounded by horses
found in that town (Boucher 1990, # 202; Euskirchen 1993, # 217); a
ver dishes was attributed as a votive gift
to Epona’s temple. The representation
on a handle of one silver patera is also
ascribed to the iconography of this god-
dess, although there are other opinions
stating that it is the image of a syncre-
tistic deity of Magna (Terra) Mater type,
see: Dušanić 1976, 158-160, # 170-174;
Јовановић 2007, 36-39; Поповић 1995,
152-155; 1994, 291, # 204.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 69

similar one comes from Enns in Austria, i.e. former Roman military
camp Lauriacum, in the province of Noricum (Boucher 1990, # 203;
Euskirchen 1993, # 223). These monuments also could easily have in-
fluenced the iconography of the goddess of the Danubian horsemen
cult whose icons were found in larger numbers in Carnuntum (Tudor
1969, # 147-151) and Poetovio (Tudor 1969, # 155-159), where their
artistic influences could have intertwined, since they were the centers
of both cults.
Returning to our original hypothesis, and keeping in mind that
among the Pannonian icons there were none registered as class A
(Tudor 1976, 94), we believe that the growing complexity of the cen-
tral scene in which we have recognized Celtic influence, could have
had its beginnings in the northwest area of Lower Moesia i.e. bor-
dering regions with Dacia. This influence spread along the Danube
towards Upper Moesia where there were notable workshops for the
production of the Danubian horsemen icons in Viminacium/Kostolac
and Singidunum/Belgrade, and continued towards Sirmium in Lower
Pannonia, yet another important center of the cult (Ochsenschlager
1971; Поповић 1988; 1986). The existence of Epona’s cult in Upper
Pannonia and Noricum, especially bearing in mind the iconography
we have examined here (the image of the goddess surrounded by hors-
es), also could strongly support the defining process of the final icono-
graphic and theological contents of the Danubian votive images.
It is our hope that with this analysis we have managed to point out
again the importance of the iconographic influence Epona’s cult had
in the conception of the image and identity of the Danubian horse-
men cult’s goddess. We believe that it was wrongfully neglected by be-
ing so closely linked to the image of fish, an attribute uncommon to
the Celtic cult. This, unfortunately, led to erroneous interpretations of
their individual as well as combined connotations. The assimilation
of the elements found in the Danubian icons was most probably guid-
ed by what the artist could have seen in the surrounding area, which
was then taken as material that was adapted in order to be further
incorporated in the functional development of the cult. We feel free,
therefore, to propose a detailed iconographic analysis of the individual
motifs as a methodological approach for the additional explanation
of the mysterious contents of these icons. The presence of a Celtic in-
fluence in their formation, apart from the official solar theology, has
been just another important manifestation of syncretism typical for
the Late Roman period. At the time when an undefined line separat-
ing different religions became analogous to the declining identity of
Roman Empire, the assimilation of iconographic patterns and their
specific combinations served the purpose of installing a new ideol-
ogy, not unlike the phenomenon noted for the early development of
Christian art.
70 Bojana PLEMIĆ
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CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE DANUBIAN HORSEMEN CULT... 71

Принос към изучаването на

култа към Дунавските конници:
иконографски синкретизъм
на Дунавската богиня и келтски
божества на плодородието
Бояна ПЛЕМИЧ

(резюме)
Основна задача на статията е да привлече внимание върху
пренебрегвано художествено влияние, съдействало значително
за оформяне на изображението на богинята в култа към
Дунавските конници. Образите на Епона на трон и заобиколена
от коне повлияват силно както върху Дунавските релефи от клас
В, представящи богинята в движение и докосваща конските
муцуни или хранеща ги с ръка, така и върху сцени, в които тя
повдига краищата на дрехата си, за да образува нещо като торба,
в която предлага фураж на коня, и накрая влияят и на редките
примери, където богинята е на трон. Тази идея е погрешно
изоставена от ранните изследователи, защото те приписвали на
богинята риба като неин атрибут, който е непознат в келтския
култ. Обаче изображенията на Епона от споменатия тип най-
вероятно отразяват промени в естественото развитие на култа
като подчертаване на превъзходството на богинята – нейният
жест на хранене и милване на конете показва патронаж не само
върху животните, но и върху хората, които ги яздят, като така се
отбелязва тяхната по-ниска позиция.
Имайки предвид най-новите публикации върху изображе-
нията на Дунавските конници, може да се приеме, че растящото
усложняване на централната сцена върху Дунавските плочки,
в което разпознаваме келтско влияние, вероятно се оформя в
граничните райони на Дакия и Долна Мизия. По-конкретно
тази зона е северозападната част на провинция Долна Мизия,
където са отбелязани важни находки от подходящ за насто-
ящата научна теза иконографски тип на Епона – от района на
римската крепост Августе край село Хърлец, Врачанско и от
римската колония Ескус край село Гиген, Плевенско. Именно
тази територия е най-вероятно първоначалната контактна зона
между паметници на двата култа – към Епона и към Дунавските
конници. Това синкретизиращо художествено влияние се раз-
пространило западно по реката и северно от нея – съответно
към Горна Мизия и Дакия. В Горна Мизия работели значими
работилници за производство на плочки на Дунавските ко-
нници – във Виминациум / Костолац и Сингидунум / Белград.
Въпросното влияние достигнало на запад до провинция Долна
Панония, където Сирмиум / Сремска Митровица бил друг ва-
жен център на този култ. Иконографски доказателства за на-
72 Bojana PLEMIĆ

личие на култа към Епона в Горна Панония и Норик и то от

типа, който обсъждаме тук (богинята, заобиколена от коне),
подкрепят идеята за асимилиране на художествени идеи, дове-
ло до окончателно оформяне на иконографското и теологично
съдържание на Дунавските вотивни изображения.

Bojana Plemić PhD

independent scholar
20 Varvarinska St.
SRB-11000 Belgrade
bojana.plemic@yahoo.com

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